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We've all dealt with our fair share of rising prices over the last couple of years.
But when you're paying more for a smaller or lower quality product, it can make the situation feel worse.
When this happens, it's often down to two economic tactics: shrinkflation and skimpflation.
We're digging into what each of these is, how to spot them, and how to make sure you're still getting value for money.
When the prices of ingredients or materials go up, manufacturers have a few choices:
Often, this means customers paying more, getting less, or both.
When manufacturers make products smaller but don't make them cheaper, this is shrinkflation. The idea behind it is that you still get quality products at an affordable price. You just get slightly less of them.
Shrinkflation is a tactic often used by food and drink manufacturers. But it can happen with all sorts of household goods. For example:
Skimpflation happens when manufacturers use less of a key ingredient or material, or swap it for a cheaper one. This means you'll receive the same quantity of the product, and the price stays the same. But the quality is lower.
Like shrinkflation, skimpflation is most often used in food and drink. For example:
But you may come across it in other household goods too, like handwash that contains less soap and more water.
When a manufacturer reduces the amount of something expensive in a product, they usually use cheaper or 'filler' ingredients to make up the weight difference. For example, in sausages, pork is likely to be replaced with flour. Or in guacamole, avocado could be replaced with more tomato or onion.
As well as making a difference to the taste and texture, these swaps can also affect the amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in your food. This may mean you're not getting as much nutrition for your money.
Under food standards regulations, the main rule that manufacturers must follow is for their packets and labels to be accurate and not misleading. This means that as long as the ingredients, size, and weight are up to date on an item's label, the manufacturer isn't required to tell you something's changed.
As a result, many people don't notice shrinkflation or skimpflation happening. And when they do, they feel duped. Some instances of shrinkflation and skimpflation have caused consumer outrage, such as when Cadbury's cut the number of bags of Animals biscuits in a pack in February 2024.
Without keeping old packaging to compare the weight and ingredients of your favourites as time goes on, shrinkflation and skimpflation can be difficult to spot. But there are some other tricks that can help you identify these tactics being used:
If you do your grocery shopping online, then you might notice that some items appear unavailable when you search for them or use a 'favourites' list to shop. But what looks like an identical product is shown as an alternative. If the alternative is slightly smaller, yet costs the same as your old favourite, that's shrinkflation.
Often when the ingredients in a product change, the manufacturer will update the packaging to promote the 'new recipe' or formulation. But 'new' doesn't always mean 'improved'. Changes to ingredients could be a sign of skimpflation.
ONS research in 2019 found that between 2012 and 2017, over 2,500 products had shrunk, while their prices stayed the same or increased. It's likely that thousands more products have been affected by shrinkflation or skimpflation since then. So if you think that a product is different or is smaller than it used to be, you're probably right.
The key to getting good value for money despite shrinkflation and skimpflation is to shop around.
Just because a product has been shrunk without reducing the price at your usual supermarket doesn't mean that's happened everywhere. Before you buy the smaller item, compare different retailers to see if any of them still have the original size, or are offering the smaller size at a better price.
If you notice one of your usuals has a new recipe or formulation, compare the ingredients with other brands on the shelf to see if there are any differences. Then, you can decide whether any quality difference you find is worth the extra money.
Unit prices are often found on shelf-edge stickers in shops, or on product listings online. They can be expressed in different ways:
Paying attention to the unit price can help you more easily compare different brands and pack sizes to get the best value for money. For example:
A 500g bag of pasta costs 80p and has a unit cost of £1.60 per kg. Meanwhile, a 2kg bag of pasta costs £2.90, and has a unit cost of £1.45 per kg. So even though the larger bag costs more, it's better value for money.
That said, it's important to only spend more on bigger, better value for money packs if you're sure you'll use that much of the product. If the extra would be wasted, then it's a better choice to buy the smaller pack.
Next, read about the psychological tricks retailers use to get you to spend more!
Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure content is correct when published. Information on this website doesn't constitute financial advice, and we aren't responsible for the content of any external sites.
Helen is a personal finance editor who’s spent 11 years (and counting!) in the finance industry. She creates content on everything money with the goal of getting people thinking – and talking – about their finances in ways they may not have done before.
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